Waffles with fig compote

I didn't get very many figs today, only this many:



It was very sad, but I decided to make the best of it. I made waffles with fig compote.




I used Alton Brown's basic waffle recipe, except that I halved the recipe, and used all white whole wheat flour instead of half white all-purpose and half regular whole wheat.


Fig compote
Makes 2 servings (enough for 2 waffles)

About 15 fresh figs
1 cup water
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp sugar
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 cardamom pod

Place all ingredients in saucepan, bring to boil. Simmer uncovered on med-low heat, stirring occasionally, until figs start to break apart and most of the water cooks off, about 20 minutes.









The spices wafting from the simmering compote smelled so good that I decided to make some chai, using the same spices I used for the compote plus a handful of whole cloves. I'm not one of those people who can drink hot beverages when it's hot, so I made iced chai. Now, I've heard there's no such thing as iced chai (I guess this is similar to the "no such thing as iced cappuccino" argument) but I saw no reason I couldn't make some extra strong chai and then put ice in it. So I did. Sorry about the lack of measurements, but I never have and probably never will use real measurements for my chai. I have this (possibly silly and superstitious) belief that trying to use measurements would ruin it. However, I will certainly share my method.

I simmer water and the spices until it smells good and the water starts to turn a little brown. Then I throw in a handful of osmanthus tea and simmer gently for a couple more minutes, till it really looks like tea. I then turn off the heat, stir in a spoonful of honey, and enough milk to make it look the right color. In this case, I used a little less water than usual, so the ice wouldn't make it too watery.